A Chinese government plane seen flying over waters north of islets disputed by Japan and China in the East China Sea, in January.

A top U.S. diplomat painted an alarming picture of the standoff between China and Japan over a group of islands in the East China Sea that the two countries contest, noting there had been “an unprecedented spike in risky activity” by Chinese maritime agencies.

“We remain concerned about the serious downturn in China-Japan relations,” said Daniel Russel, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in Congressional testimony Wednesday. He urged the two countries to “lower tensions, turn down the rhetoric, and exercise caution and restraint.”

He added that the U.S. supported Japan’s call for diplomacy and crisis management “to avoid miscalculation or a dangerous incident.”

Mr. Russel was speaking ahead of a visit to Asia this month by Secretary of State John Kerry, his fifth in 10 months.

Mr. Russel’s description of the situation around the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, was part of an unusually detailed account of how Washington sees the risk of unintended conflict or accident in the East China and South China Seas as China conducts increasingly aggressive tactics. He stressed the “deep concern” that the U.S. feels over the rising regional tensions, noting that “a simple miscalculation or incident could touch off an escalatory cycle.”

Mr. Russel cited two primary reasons for the rising tensions. “The frequency and assertiveness of some countries’ patrols are increasing,” he said. As well, different countries imposing “competing regulations” over disputed territory and nearby waters and airspace is “raising tensions and increasing the risk of confrontation.”

He warned that the risk of confrontation could have “serious adverse consequences” for the area’s economies and security, laying out a lengthy list of U.S. concerns over China’s territorial policies that were conveyed to Beijing officials during a visit there by himself and deputy secretary of state William Burns earlier in February.

The concerns included:

* China’s “sudden, uncoordinated and unilateral” imposition of air defense identification regulations in the East China Sea
* Its announcement of administrative and military districts in contested areas
* China’s putting hydrocarbon blocks up for bid in an area close to another country’s mainland and far from islands that China claims
* Updating fishing regulations covering disputed areas
* Restrictions on access to a contested reef
* Pressure on the Philippine presence on a contested shoal

Comments (5 of 18)

America should also wake up to the fact that the dispute between China and Japan originated from the unfair Treaty of San Francisco of 1951. Some say America is threatened by China. Some say China is being aggressive in the territorial disputes with some neighbors. We can trace back the troubles to the US pivot to Asia and the unfair treatment of China (both the PRC and the ROC) in the San Francisco Conference of 1951. The Soviet Union strongly objected to this treaty because it was so dominated by the US in its drafting, and that China's right as a Victor of WW2 was clearly violated, and the terms of surrender of Japan were changed in Japan's favor, making Japan an ally of the US against the Soviet. This was the nature of the cold war of the 1950's.
China has no choice but to defend its territorial integrity against the US dominance and hegemonism in favor of japan after WW2.

Unless these injustice can be addressed, there is no way for the dispute to be basically resolved between the US, China and Japan.

12:12 pm February 10, 2014

Time for corection wrote:

The US, which by expressing "disappointment" for PM Abe to Visit the Yasukuni Shrine had sent a wrong message to China that the US will not act to protect its allies - Just as Saudi Arabia is feeling with the US in their handlingof the situation in Syria and Iran. The US has some responsibility to correct these blunders, and give a straight mesage to China that they need to reign in their hostile activities in East and South China Seas, as well as cleaning up their acts against the Tibetiand and Uighurs in Tibet and East Turkestan.

10:19 am February 10, 2014

Simple test wrote:

The Chinese should take a look at their passport and see how many countries they can enter with it without a Visa. Japanese passport holders usually require no Visa to enter other countries and are rarely asked questions about their intent of stay at immigration. That should tell a lot about the degree of trust on the international community between Japan and China.

7:45 pm February 8, 2014

justice_first wrote:

The age of anti China, anti communism should be over by now. China is no longer a tyrant as many have suggested. Let the Chinese people decide who they want as their leaders in the 21st century. This ultimate freedom to decide could take place in a gradual fashion. The Chinese culture is indeed not the same as what we know in the west. To argue that the west must rise up against China in this century is pure cold war mentality, and is wrong.

China has its rights to choose its own path of development as a nation. A new cold war is dangerous in the 21st century due to the destructive power of nuclear weapons. America must shed its cold war mentality for another mode of peaceful co-existence, for peace and prosperity for all.

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